New 2025 deadline for R1.8 billion district hospital plagued by contractor payment woes
Scepticism is growing over the new district hospital, after the Department of Health in Mpumalanga again postponed the completion date of the project to November 2025.
The question on everyone’s lips is whether the department will be able to supply a sufficient number of healthcare professionals, in particular doctors, to sustainably run the institution once the department takes ownership.
The hospital was approved as an alternative to the already struggling Middelburg Hospital, which the department says has become “too minimalist to cater for the district’s growing healthcare needs.”
Construction started in 2017 but several payment disputes with contractors resulted in numerous construction delays.
Construction has also not resumed due to outstanding payments to contractors.
The hospital was due to open in 2020.
The department has already overspent on the project by R200 million, from its estimated completion cost of R1.4 billion, which has ballooned to R1.6 billion.
The department projects that the final cost of the project will be R1.8 billion.
The hospital will offer outpatient services, general care, a maternity unit, a 600-seat auditorium, accommodation for staff and students, training facilities and a trauma unit.
The first phase of the hospital will provide 220 beds, but the design includes future upgrades of another 130 beds.
According to the department, around 15 per cent of the total construction still needs to be finalised.
According to the latest Auditor General report, project management withdrew after a number of financial issues had been flagged.
An in-loco visit to the hospital in March by Mpumalanga legislature members also revealed that the standard Infrastructure Unit Support System requirements had not been met, and the contractor had been appointed at lower rates during the tender bidding process.
Non-payment of professional services further resulted in a breakdown of quality control on site.
Enza Construction will only resume the project once all outstanding debts have been settled by the department.
Apart from sourcing a sufficient number of healthcare professionals, who prefer to migrate to the metros, supplying the hospital with the necessary equipment is also a lingering problem, with the main contractor still sourcing sub-contractors for supply and installation.
